This invention relates to an article of knock-down furniture that can be easily assembled by the end-user.
Articles of furniture that consist of several pieces, each capable of rotation relative to each other, are well known. A typical example is the folding chair. One type of folding chair, known as "knock-down" furniture, has several pieces making up the seat, back and legs of the chair. In a typical design, each piece has a bore through which a metal rod is passed. Each piece is strung on this rod like beads on a string until the full complement of pieces has been reached to create a portion of the chair. The pieces are held in place on the rod by some fastening means at the ends of the rod. When the article of furniture is completely assembled, each portion of the chair is capable of rotation relative to each other, thereby allowing the knock-down chair to fold out into an open position for use, or to fold into a closed compact position suitable for storage.
When the article of furniture has some contour to its seat or back portions, the metal rod has been replaced by metal wire, such as 12 gauge fence wire. The flexibility of the wire allows it to conform to this contour. This transverse flexibility is necessary when the contoured article of furniture is folded into its closed position. The wire is typically bent at the ends and driven back into the end pieces. A knock-down chair of this design usually has to be assembled by the manufacturer because the procedure and tools required are beyond the means of the average consumer.
A common problem with most knock-down furniture items is that they are not designed to be easily assembled by the end-user. Pre-assembly of the furniture by the manufacturer is typically required, thereby increasing the production and shipping costs of the item. In addition, the end-user cannot easily adjust the pre-assembled furniture should the items become loose. This invention addresses these problems of ease of assembly, ease of adjustment and cost-effectiveness, by replacing the use of metal rod or metal wire to couple the pieces of an article of knock-down furniture.